January 30, 2006

A 2,000 year old date seed planted last Tu B’Shvat has sprouted and is over a foot tall. Being grown at Kibbutz Ketura in the Negev, it is the oldest seed to ever produce a viable young sapling.

The Judean date seed was found, together with a large number of other seeds, during archaeological excavations carried out close to Massada near the southern end of the Dead Sea, the last Jewish stronghold following the Roman destruction of the Holy Temple. The age of the seeds was determined using carbon dating, but has a margin of error of 50 years – placing them either right before or right after the Massada revolt.

Hamas leader sets conditions for truceGAZA CITY (CNN) -- A leader of Hamas, the militant group that last week became the controlling force in Palestinian politics, laid out a series of conditions Sunday that he said could lead to years of co-existence alongside Israel.

The conditions included Israel's retreating to its pre-1967 borders and releasing Palestinian prisoners.

Mahmoud al-Zahar, the top Hamas official in Gaza, told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" that a "long-term hudna or long-term truce" is possible. He would not commit to negotiating with Israel and would not say whether recognizing Israel's existence is a long-term possibility. (Watch Hamas leader list Palestinian conditions -- 7:32)

At Israel's Cabinet meeting, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Hamas must renounce violence for his country to negotiate with the new Palestinian leaders. (Full story)

(click above for full article)To sum up: For there to be peace, the "Palestinians" are expected to give up murder and terror. All Israel has to give up is Israel.

January 29, 2006

The leader of Hamas suggested Saturday that the Islamic group could create a Palestinian army that would include its militant wing — responsible for scores of deadly attacks on Israelis — in the aftermath of its crushing victory in parliamentary elections.

Following their resounding election victory, the Islamic militants of Hamas met the question of whether they will change their stripes with a loud "no": no recognition of Israel, no negotiations, no renunciation of terror.

January 27, 2006

The "Palestinians" have made their choice. They who embraced Hitler in WWII and tried to speed up the killing of Jews. They who indoctrinate their children with their bloodthirsty death cult. They who would rather die or send their children to die then co-exist. They who praise the slaughter of innocents and dream of exterminating another people. They made their choice.

Israel also made its choice. It made its choice when it decided to open negotiations with those who openly want to kill us. Those who deny our right to our ethnic, historical and religious homeland. Those who revise history. Those who occupy our holy shrines and daily desecrate them. Israel made its choice to rip Jews away from their homes and communities and not properly house them after the fact. Israel made its choice when it armed its enemies and showed weakness. They made their choice.

America too made its choice. America made its choice when it tried to force democracy on a people who cannot, will not, allow for freedom. It made its choice when it openly pushed for Israel to give up its territory, spoils of war, and allowed the area to be ethnically cleansed of Jews. They made their choice.

The thing is... choices have consequences.

I was never a "Kachnik." But I do remember seeing a film of Kahane not long before he was murdered. In it he stated something to the effect of: "In ten years it will be either Arafat or Kahane in Israel. it is your choice."

He couldn't be more wrong.

The Hamas Charter (or "there goes the neighborhood")

"Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious...The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah's victory is realised...The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. The Muslim Brotherhood Movement is a universal organization which constitutes the largest Islamic movement in modern times...

It strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine, for under the wing of Islam followers of all religions can coexist in security and safety where their lives, possessions and rights are concerned...

The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the links in the chain of the struggle against the Zionist invaders. It goes back to 1939, to the emergence of the martyr Izz al-Din al Kassam and his brethren the fighters, members of Muslim Brotherhood. It goes on to reach out and become one with another chain that includes the struggle of the Palestinians and Muslim Brotherhood in the 1948 war and the Jihad operations of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1968 and after...

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said: 'The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him...'Resisting and quelling the enemy become the individual duty of every Muslim, male or female. A woman can go out to fight the enemy without her husband's permission, and so does the slave: without his master's permission...

There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. The Palestinian people know better than to consent to having their future, rights and fate toyed with...

The day The Palestinian Liberation Organization adopts Islam as its way of life, we will become its soldiers, and fuel for its fire that will burn the enemies...

The Zionist invasion is a vicious invasion... It relies greatly in its infiltration and espionage operations on the secret organizations it gave rise to, such as the Freemasons, The Rotary and Lions clubs, and other sabotage groups. All these organizations, whether secret or open, work in the interest of Zionism and according to its instructions...

We should not forget to remind every Muslim that when the Jews conquered the Holy City in 1967, they stood on the threshold of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and proclaimed that 'Mohammed is dead, and his descendants are all women.'

Israel, Judaism and Jews challenge Islam and the Muslim people. 'May the cowards never sleep.'"

January 21, 2006

Police Chief Moshe Karadi refused to rule out the use of live fire in the confrontation over the eviction of the residents of Hevron's Shalhevet neighborhood. "No more mixed messages," he said.Interviewed on Israel's Channel 2 television Saturday, Police Chief Karadi said, "The eviction will be carried out in any event - calmly or by force."

When asked if the police was prepared to use live weapons fire during the evictions, Karadi replied: "I hope not, but as the person responsible for professional operations, I cannot afford to rule out that assumption. From now on, there will be no more mixed messages. From now on, there will be unequivocal enforcement of the law."

January 19, 2006

As of 11:00 am Friday morning Israel time Hevron was re-opened and is no longer a "closed military zone."

My thoughts are this. I consider myself a right-leaning Orthodox Jew. I am a strong supporter of Israel, but not a blind Zionist who believes the state can do no wrong. If Israel acts incorrectly against fellow Jews, I believe it must be addressed. Hebron, the Temple Mount and other Jewish holy sites including Kever Yosef must be accessible to all Jews who wish to worship there.

My goal is to get 1,000 signatures. Please SIGN and tell your friends, relatives and PLEASE post the link on your Blog.

Show the Jews of Hebron that you have them in mind. Show the world that Hebron has, is and will always be a Jewish City. Reaffirm your love and devotion for our Holy forefathers and foremothers who are buried there. Avraham, Sarah, Yitzchak, Rivka, Ya'akov, Leah. May the merit of our ancestors help us in this troubling time.

Read the article HEREThe Israel Shipping Association (ISA) is seeking to persuade the Ashdod Port Management to operate the seaport on Shabbat (Sabbath) and holidays as it does the rest of the week. The ISA claims that such a change will improve the port's ability to compete and will contribute to the Israeli economy. According to the ISA, all other world ports, including those of our neighbor-states, operate seven days a week. Me: When will the Jewish People learn?

Master of the Universe, have Mercy on Your People and forgive our blatent rebelliousness.

January 15, 2006

Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri, known as the Elder of the Kabbalist Rabbis, was rushed to the Bikur Holim Hospital in Jerusalem this morning with pneumonia. Doctors are trying to stablize his condition.

Rabbi Yitzchak (ben Tufaha) Kaduri, aged 105, was hospitalized for a week earlier this month, after contracting what was called a light case of pneumonia and a serious case of influenza. The patient continued to greet and bless visitors even from his hospital bed, but after a few days asked to be released in order to "again meet people who come to receive blessings." He continued his custom of studying daily passages of Torah, Prophets, Writings, Mishna, Gmara, Zohar, Jewish law and Jewish ethics throughout his hospital stay.

Arutz-7 Hebrew Radio showhost Yehoshua Meiri, a noted Arab-affairs commentator and student of Rabbi Kaduri, visited Rabbi Kaduri at his hospital bedside last Sunday together with the Kabbalist's grandson, Rabbi Yossi Kaduri. Meiri reported that the elder Rabbi Kaduri, with his usual cheerful countenance, told them, "The time of Redemption has come."

Rabbi Kaduri arrived in the Holy Land in 1908, then returned to Iraq to study with the famed Ben Ish Chai, and then returned to the Land in 1916. He studied in Yeshivat Porat Yosef in the Old City of Jerusalem, and later in Yeshivat Nachlat Yitzchak in western Jerusalem. The Rabbi quickly gained a reputation for his profound study of Torah law and Kabbalah, piercing insights, and great piety."

He is known for being the last of the Torah giants, one who was recognized by Rabbi Shach and others from all parts of the Torah world," Meiri said.

January 10, 2006

On this fast day I sit and read of all the craziness going on in Israel. When will it end? Will those who eschew food and drink on this day stand up and speak out? Jerusalem was under siege thousands of years ago by the Babylonians. Today has anything really changed? The world powers still clamp down on the Holy city while "Judah as well goes up" against her. Here's some insightful reading for you on this fast day:

So as you break your fast and go on with your lives, please take a few moments to remember the Klal. Remember your brothers and sisters who are suffering in Eretz Yisrael. Remember the One who will redeem us: HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Daven with kavana and ask Hashem to redeem us. Amen.

And it was in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon came, he and all his hosts, upon Jerusalem, and he encamped upon it and built forts around it. And the city came under siege till the eleventh year of King Tzidkiyahu. On the ninth of the month famine was intense in the city, the people had no bread, and the city was breached.Second Kings 25Read an excellent essay by Rav Bar Tzadok HEREAnother great essay can be found HEREHave an easy fast!

Iran says it will resume nuclear fuel research on Monday, despite international appeals to desist.

Officials say seals at nuclear research centres will be removed, ending a two-year suspension.The European Union has warned such a move could jeopardise a return to negotiations on Iran's sensitive nuclear ambitions.

Resuming the research would mean all of Iran's nuclear activities, apart from uranium enrichment, are active again.

Talks between Iran and the EU broke off last August after Iran resumed uranium conversion activity which it had suspended in 2004.

This week's haftara was from Ezekiel Chapter 37. Below is a portion of it that I found particularly moving:

21 And say unto them: Thus saythe L-rd G-d. Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land; 22 and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all; 23 neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them; so shall they be My people, and I will be their God. 24 And My servant David shall be king over them, and they all shall have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My ordinances, and observe My statutes, and do them. 25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, and their children, and their children's children, for ever; and David My servant shall be their prince for ever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them--it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will establish them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for ever. 27 My dwelling-place also shall be over them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 28 And the nations shall know that I am the L-rd that sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for ever.'

There is a question that I have had for a long time but never thought to ask. If we believe, al pi Kabbalah and/or mesorah that there is a) reincarnation and/or b) Ressurection of the dead then why couldn't Mashiach actually be King David and not the son of David? Wouldn't the greatest king of Israel be the best leader for the Jewish people? It seems as if that is what Yechezkel is saying above. Are there any shailas or teshuvas on this matter? Just a random thought from me.

I had a cool dream the other night. Someone showed me a new way to wrap tefillin which spelled another name of G-d. The name was not just on the hand but the entire arm.

Then I saw twelve fingers in a circle and was to wrap the shel yad tefillin around them to bind them together as the bracha was recited: I will betroth you to Me forever, and I will betroth you to Me with righteousness, justice, kindness, and mercy. I will betroth you to Me with faithfulness, and you shall know Hashem.I then woke up.

January 04, 2006

Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of coins and artifacts in Temple Mount rubble removed by Arabs who are building a huge underground mosque. Among the finds are a seal that was used to close sacks of silver at the time of the prophet Jeremiah, shortly before the destruction of the First Temple. The seal bears a name that suggest the owner may have been a brother of a priest named in Jeremiah's writings, according to Bar Ilan University Prof. Gabriel Barkai.

Also found was an iron arrowhead with a shaft used by the Romans in their attack on the Second Temple almost 2,000 years ago. Other finds date back to the Middle Ages and "testify to large attendance at the Temple Mount during the Christian conquest and rule during the 11th to 15th centuries," Prof. Barkai added.

The Iranian government has been successfully scouring Europe for the sophisticated equipment needed to develop a nuclear bomb, according to the latest western intelligence assessment of the country's weapons programmes.

Scientists in Tehran are also shopping for parts for a ballistic missile capable of reaching Europe, with "import requests and acquisitions ... registered almost daily", the report seen by the Guardian concludes.

The warning came as Iran raised the stakes in its dispute with the United States and the European Union yesterday by notifying the International Atomic Energy Authority that it intended to resume nuclear fuel research next week. Tehran has refused to rule out a return to attempts at uranium enrichment, the key to the development of a nuclear weapon.

Suicide bomber was planning attack at kids' Hanukkah partyFrom Haaretz.comThe suicide bomber who killed an Israel Defense Forces officer and two Palestinians at an army checkpoint near Tul Karm yesterday was apparently planning to blow himself up at one of the many children's events taking place in Tel Aviv during this week's Hanukkah holiday, army sources said.

Had the bomber not been stopped at the checkpoint, the attack would have been far more deadly, said the sources.